Saigon import Scott on loss to Alab: ‘We may have just lost to the champions’

Photo from ASEAN Basketball League

Giving his all for Saigon Heat in their quarterfinals defeat to San Miguel Alab Pilipinas, Akeem Scott could only heap praises for the Philippine side as the Filipinos move forward to the 2018 ASEAN Basketball League semifinals.

“We may have just lost to the champions, truthfully,” he admitted after the home team’s 85-96 Game 2 defeat at CIS Arena in Ho Chi Minh City.

Scott led the way for Saigon in the two-game series, averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 steals, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.

However, those efforts weren’t enough to topple Alab which drew huge games from Renaldo Balkman and Lawrence Domingo in the series.

Balkman poured in 21 points to go along with rebounds, and three assists in the clincher, while Domingo once again showed that he can step up to the plate and finished with 18 markers, six boards, and three assists.

For Scott, though, it wasn’t just the two who did damage.

“Alab is a good team and they have a deep bench.  They’re probably about 10 to 11-man deep so it’s hard to beat a team like that,” he said.

“You gotta try your best to fight them, but at the end of the day, you gotta respect a good team like that. They got a good scheme, they have a good coaching staff. Much respect to them even though I know them and their fans don’t like me much. Good luck to them.”

San Miguel Alab Pilipinas now shift their focus to Hong Kong Eastern with Game 1 of the best-of-three semifinals scheduled on Wednesday at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong.